Fourplexes are a complicated niche that could provide some housing relief

Prototype for a fourplex development on a small Vancouver building lot by Smallworks, a Vancouver design studio focused on laneway homes. Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser has required allowing fourplexes as a condition of getting millions in federal housing money in many cities.

But why the frenzy of activity over this particular housing strategy? And, even if it suddenly becomes the zoning norm across Canada, what will it really change about the country’s housing shortage – the presumed cause of outlandish housing prices now being paid in Canada for anything with four walls and a roof?

In Calgary, where the city has allowed fourplexes for years in a small number of zones and is now looking to make it a permitted use everywhere without any apparent “poison pills” that might actually slow them down, advocates say they understand it is a political bargain. But those in the actual business of building homes, along with housing groups that back this movement, all point out that it’s not going to be as easy as the multiplication tables might make it look.

Vancouver officials say they kept the overall size low in order to make sure that smaller, more affordable homes are built. Others say it appears that they just didn’t want current residents to see too much change. Again, experienced builders say it’s not likely going to be aging boomers, using their retirement savings, or even multi-generational families pooling resources.

And, in reality, ramping up large-scale production of fourplexes will likely require the growth of a new, niche type of developer.

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